Games research and education (M.Sc. and Ph.D.)

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The Institute of Digital Games is the centre for research and education in game design, game analysis, and game technology at the University of Malta.

Our work is at the forefront of innovative games research. We explore games and play, uncovering new playful and generative possibilities in game design and technology. We delve into everything games can teach us about ourselves.

Our multidisciplinary academic team spans computer science, literature, game design, philosophy, media studies, and social sciences.

Read our latest report: IDG Annual Report - Academic Year 2021/22

David developed an innovative model for understanding board game involvement for his thesis.

It is an environment roaring with ideas, thoughts, games, prototypes, concepts. It was a period when I felt constantly inspired.

Rebecca is researching narrative in games. As part of her thesis, she developed a choice-driven video game.

Practice in the form of game project assignments and a supportive teaching staff really boost your confidence as a game designer!

The Institute feels like a little community that you're part of.

William's research explored the procedural generation of multi-floor levels for first-person shooters.

Being involved in the research process, I realised how passionate everyone at IDG is about their research.

David C.
Graduated in 2015
Rebecca P.
Graduated in 2017
William C.
Graduated in 2015

Blog What we have been up to lately

AutoGameDesign demonstrated at Science in the City

October 3, 2016

On Friday, 30th of September, Valletta wore its (metaphorical) lab coat and welcomed another Science in the City event. The Institute of Digital Games could not be absent from the event, and four members of the tech-oriented IDG staff were present … read more

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CIG 2016 conference

September 26, 2016

The Institute of Digital Games had an impressive presence at the IEEE Computational Intelligence and Games Conference that took place in beautiful Santorini. The conference, attended by over 100 international experts in the field of artificial intelligence … read more

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FESIVALETTERATURA and videogame culture

August 18, 2016

In a few weeks, the beautiful city of Mantua (Italy) will host for the 20th time the FESTIVALETTERATURA, and the IDG will be part of it! In case you did not know, FESTIVALETTERATURA is the biggest and most prestigious literature and literature criticism … read more

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IDG participates in DiGRA-FDG Conference 2016

August 17, 2016

IDG faculty and students had a strong presence at the first joint DiGRA-FDG (Digital Games Research Association - Foundations of Digital Games) International Conference, held at Abertay University, Dundee, Scotland, on 1-6 August. Gordon … read more

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GECCO 2016 conference

July 26, 2016

IDG member Georgios N. Yannakakis just attended the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference in Colorado, presenting original work from the Institute of Digital Games on evolutionary divergent search. The paper presented by Georgios … read more

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Tag-team guest lecture in meaningful game design

July 20, 2016

The MFA Program in Art of Game Design (LCAD, Laguna Beach - California) presents a 'tag-team public lecture in meaningful game design' featuring IDG's own Stefano Gualeni and Michelle Westerlaken from the University of Malmö: … read more

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